Holly’s Book Club: Part 1

Picture: Clementinum Library: Wikipedia
May I just say how gorge is the National Library of the Czech Republic?! So chic.

I absolutely adore books and for a long time I had deserted them. This Summer, I’ve decided to allocate time to kick back with a good book and spend less time on my phone and it’s doing wonders. So instead of putting down the books after I’ve read them, I’ve been passing them along to others who I thought would enjoy reading them.

My Book Club blog posts will be detailed reviews about the books I’ve been reading thus far. They will be 100% honest so it’ll give you an insight of what books to avoid also and not just good ones. These books I’ve picked were found outside of the bestseller section so you may not have heard of these books before. I may also put a disclaimer here that I am no English teacher, I’m not an expert! So what I enjoy to read may not be your cup of tea. Also, I’m a hopeless romantic so there’ll be a good few romance novels in here (Sorry ’bout it).

I absolutely binged this book during my holiday in Ordascehi in Hungary where my dad lives. I literally could not put it down, I was completely obsessed. Heartless takes you to the land of Wonderland long before Alice and puts you into the perspective of the Queen of Hearts, Catherine Pinkerton. I am a huge fan of writers inputing a different perspective on popular fairytale stories. Marissa Mayer’s love and respect for Lewis Carroll shows in her research and detail that she put into this book which I really appreciated.

This book shows that every villain can have the potential to be good. You truly see that in Catherine Pinkerton, who is only a young woman before she is pushed to customs and expectations that she doesn’t believe in. The book plays a lot with women oppression and limitations in society which really makes you root for Catherine throughout the novel and makes her a relatable character.

Catherine in her adventures meets a mysterious court wizard Jest who immerses her into a world of magic and unique experiences. But there’s trouble lurking in the kingdom as a dangerous Jabberwock lingers and is setting the kingdom into manic.

There is also the appearance of favourite characters in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ of the Mad Hatter, Jest’s best friend before he has gone completely mad. Don’t worry Alice fans, the Cheshire Cat makes a large appearance in the book as well.

This book takes you on a whirlwind of fantasy, magic and romance and I’d recommend anyone to read it. It’s a 4.5/5 from me!

This book was a real shocker to the system and I loved it. The only issue I can say about this book is 1: there isn’t a sequel and 2: the beginning was a little harder to get into the book than Heartless was.

I also started this book pretty much instantly after Heartless in Hungary and despite it’s rather tedious beginning I slowly began feeling an enormous respect for Eliza, the female protagonist in this book.

Set in the 1930s, Eliza, a 28 year old photographer, is sent to Rajputana, India to photograph the royal family. A world away from her past in England and losing her late husband in a tragic accident.

Determined to make a name for herself, Eliza completely delves into the slums and barren lands to photograph India in it’s true beauty. When Eliza arrives at the palace she meets Jay, the prince’s handsome brother.

While Eliza awakens Jay to the poverty of his people in her travels, he awakens her to the injustices and chaos of the British rule. After getting to know eachother, Jay and Eliza realise they have more in common than they think. But their families – and society – think otherwise.

This book really takes you into a completely different world and it is so easy due to the in-depth descriptions of the scenery, smells, fabrics and colours that Dinah Jeffries creates. This book gives you a real Romeo and Juliet couple (that don’t die) with a natural and sweet sense to it.

Now, I’ll admit the main reason I bought this book initially was just the fact that it had Charlotte’s face on it. I’m obsessed with Charlotte Crosby and always have been since the start of Geordie Shore. Watching that show, I laughed, smiled and sometimes cried over the things that Charlotte endured in that house. Now that she’s out of that show, I have to catch up on her latest news constantly through her social media, her clothing line in In The Style and more.

When I saw her snapchat constantly promoting the book, I knew I had to get it. She seemed really proud of it and after the crazy last couple of years that she’s had, I hoped that the book would show everything from her perspective.

Charlotte’s completely honest way of writing has you in stitches during her embarrassing encounters and her descriptions of her boy crushes and boy fails has you laughing because you’ve been through at least one of those kind of encounters. Charlotte has really grown up in the last few years and seeing that change in her is so inspiring.

What surprised me is that close friends and family of Charlotte also write a little piece of their perspective in the book which gives you an all-round image of Charlotte and the kind of person she is.

She also goes through details of her symptoms and experiences during her Ectopic Pregnancy which pulled at my heartstrings but is very informative and will keep me on the lookout for friends and family who might experience those symptoms. I only read about Ectopic Pregnancies once Charlotte Crosby had experienced it and I’m so proud of her that she’s informing everyone with her own experience.

This book is just great fun, it’s not intense in any way, shape or form and it’s a great, lighthearted read that I wouldn’t expect from anyone else other than Miss Charlotte Crosby herself. 4/5 from me!

For anyone interested in reading any of the above, I have put links to their copies on Amazon in the titles!

If anyone has any good books that they’ve read, please suggest them to me because I’d love to include them in my next Book Club Post.

Thank you so much for taking the time and reading my posts. It genuinely means the world to me!